A steaming hot stew of music and moves

If the television show, “Are You Hot?” had a fraction of the heat that choreographer-dancer Banafsheh Sayyad and her all-female Namah Ensemble generated at Japan America Theater Saturday night, the show would have been a hit. Talk about sensual: Iranian-born, locally based Sayyad, a purveyor of trance dancing and unabashed hair-tossing, presented “En/Trance,” two hours of exotic music and dance that fused ancient forms with postmodern punch.

Most numbers were accompanied by Zarbang Percussion Ensemble, led by the extraordinary Pejman Hadadi, who opened with a blistering 50-minute set. Sayyad, collaborating with Irene Masharo on choreography (save for her previously reviewed signature solo, “Axis of Love”), continuously brought down the packed house with theatrical flair. Soraya Soltani’s flowing chiffon and velvet harem-like costumes -- including veils that would make Salome jealous -- helped amp up the startlingly beautiful whirling dervish moves.

“I Am You,” Sayyad’s duet with Doaa Ali, offered sinewy backbends and filigreed arm work, while “Hoshaydar (Passage through Certainty)” saw Kelly Archbold, Dayse Tarakdian and Sayyad slither in precise unisons with head-dipping, hair-whipping and sultry spinning. Artistry soared in the previously reviewed, “Prayer #7,” and the finale, “Coming Together Part II -- Only Breath,” in which Ali, Archbold, Roxanne Onofre, Erica Rebollar, Tarakdian and Sayyad broke loose with raised legs and tiny leaps.

Zarbang’s wall of sound also included Javid Afsari Rad on santur (hammered dulcimer), Mehrdad Arabi on the violin-like kamanche and Brad Dutz on percussion.